Baby Blood Dead ):

I ordered a baby black blood from reptilesncritters.com Monday and just received him/her. When my roommate, fiance and I opened the box we found it packaged in a snake bag with only a hand-warmer to keep the little guy warm. Keep in mind he was being shipped from Florida to Oregon so a hand-warmer isn't going to last very long at all. What I am most upset about is how beautiful it was. I was also looking forward to having a new member of the family. :/ I guess that's what I get from ordering off the internet. ):

The infamous hand warmer wins again...

I'm so sorry for your loss, anyone who ships using hand warmers is a MORON. I sure hope the snake came with a live guarantee so you can at least get your money back. I've dealt with a few breeders via only internet communication with awesome results, so the internet isn't a bad thing. It's idiots like the one you apparently are dealing with that can turn people off from ordering via online or shipping snakes. Next time, I'd buy from a reputable breeder, also check for them on the BOI.

Again, I'm so sorry for your loss :tears:

I'm sorry your new baby arrived dead. :hug:

There are some good people who ship really well so don't let this completely turn you off of buying online. Did you get a refund because it was DOA?

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Originally Posted by LGray23

The infamous hand warmer wins again...

I'm so sorry for your loss, anyone who ships using hand warmers is a MORON. I sure hope the snake came with a live guarantee so you can at least get your money back. I've dealt with a few breeders via only internet communication with awesome results, so the internet isn't a bad thing. It's idiots like the one you apparently are dealing with that can turn people off from ordering via online or shipping snakes. Next time, I'd buy from a reputable breeder, also check for them on the BOI.

Again, I'm so sorry for your loss :tears:

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May I ask which breeders you use?
And I don't even know if I can get my money back. Oh and to top it all off the hand-warmer wasn't even broken so it wasn't putting off heat until my roommate broke it.

I'm sorry, I haven't dealt with blood pythons before, all of mine were for ball pythons, however I have read quite a few threads on here regarding top of the line blood breeders. I'm sure people will chime in...

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Originally Posted by LGray23

I'm sorry, I haven't dealt with blood pythons before, all of mine were for ball pythons, however I have read quite a few threads on here regarding top of the line blood breeders. I'm sure people will chime in...

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Oh this was my first blood.
I have mostly ball pythons. I just wanted something unique for my collection hence the black blood. But I do need at least one or two male balls because all we have right now are females.

Kara Norris from bloodpython.com is spectacular beautiful animals and someone who really cares

Well, there's my friend Patrick Jackson (Action Reptiles). He's actually local to me but he ships, and is one of the best guys I know...he has some really nice animals. He's on here, ActionReptiles. I've also had great experience with Donna Fernstrom (EclipseExotics.com). She has some awesome stuff too, and she shipped to me two perfect girls :) Then Adam James (CoiledConstrictors.com) was also a great guy to do business with, also shipped to me a beautiful little pastel girl.

Check through the BOI, I keep hearing amazing reviews from Garrick Demeyer (sp?) of Royal Constrictor Designs, Mark Petros, and Mark Sysco. I've never dealt with them but everyone I know raves about their animals, and they all ship.

Thank you both! I will check them out.

I'm sorry about your loss :( anyone who plans on shipping reptiles should know that hand warmers are not an option to heat a live animal in such a small area, they simply get too hot.

UPDATE:
We are getting a new Black Blood for free!
We should get it Friday morning. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this one makes it.

Sorry for your loss but really happy you are getting another.

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Originally Posted by marley&me

UPDATE:
We are getting a new Black Blood for free!
We should get it Friday morning. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this one makes it.

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Congrats on the new blood! At least the breeder/shipper seems fair and is trying to right a wrong. Not many people are like that these days.



Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

I bought mine from a breeder out of Florida, Steve Tillis (reptillisherps.com). I've also talked to Keith McPeek (thebloodline.net). I also highly recommend Kara, she is wonderful and has some stunning animals.

If you want a stunning animal I highly recommend you check out the parents blood line. My albino males parents were VPI's. I can't afford a VPI, but luckily I found a breeder who bred some VPI's. GL and sorry to hear about your loss. I hope you got refunded for the DOA.

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Originally Posted by Anna.Sitarski

Kara Norris from bloodpython.com is spectacular beautiful animals and someone who really cares

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I have to second Kara Norris. I bought to bloods off of her this year and they are just awesome. I wouldn't hesitate doing business with her again.

Better luck this time around! For the next bloods you're in the market for, I'd agree with Kara Norris or the Barkers at VPI being a great route to go.

i have a smokin red blood that i got from Kara, she made doing business EASY, and stayed on top of e mails. never did i feel like i was anything less than a paying customer with her. A+

my next blood will be coming from Keith at thebloodline.net because of a particular animal. though i havent purchased anything from him, hees answered my e mails, and been really up front with his projects.
spooky

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Originally Posted by Anna.Sitarski

Kara Norris from bloodpython.com is spectacular beautiful animals and someone who really cares

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Ditto Kara is a long time dear dear friend and I know for a fact that her and her hubby Ryan offer both A++ animals. Check them out and ask yourself..
"what's your Blood type?"

Another breeder to look at is Tim Mead. http://serpentim.com/

I have some stunning Briets from him that are doing great.

Just for future reference dear,

Most people who have reptiles shipped to them are careful to photograph the unboxing and opening of the bag. Most reptile shippers require photographic evidence of the arrival and packing materials, as well as the condition of the animal upon opening when disputing a problem or the occasional DOA.

I photograph the unopened box, useful if the box got damaged.
I photograph the open box, showing packaging.
I photograph the packing materials, insulation and heat pack as well as cushioning and the bag itself.
I photograph the unopened bag, showing the means of keeping the animal in the bag.
I photograph the open bag with the animal inside, especially important in case of DOA.
I photograph the animal out of the bag, to prove it arrived safe and sound OR if I found any issues such as kinks, scars, severe malnutrition, etc.

So far, I just have a bunch of pictures to remind me of when my newest baby arrived, but I'd much rather be safe than sorry.

Handwarmers are not acceptable to ship animals. When activated in such a small space, they get much to hot and use up all the available oxygen to get hot. So if it doesn't cook the animal, it suffocates them. There are heat packs designed for shipping animals, and they aren't that expensive. You talk about your roommate breaking the handwarmer ? Most of them activate upon being exposed to air, not by manipulation. Any chance of a picture of the handwarmer ?

Gale

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Originally Posted by marley&me

UPDATE:
We are getting a new Black Blood for free!
We should get it Friday morning. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this one makes it.

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You're going to allow them to ship another animal to you?

You didn't happen to save the first body, did you?

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Originally Posted by LGray23

You're going to allow them to ship another animal to you?

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That's what I was thinking...Since they didn't ship the snake properly the first time I would just want a refund...

Did you make sure they are going to ship this time using the proper heat packs?

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Originally Posted by mr.spooky

i have a smokin red blood that i got from Kara, she made doing business EASY, and stayed on top of e mails. never did i feel like i was anything less than a paying customer with her. A+

my next blood will be coming from Keith at thebloodline.net because of a particular animal. though i havent purchased anything from him, hees answered my e mails, and been really up front with his projects.
spooky

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I agree I've contacted him before and he always replies back. I think the next blood I want to get is going to be a 100% het albino matrix I dunno if I'll have the money to dish out for a pair, but I'm really looking for a quality animal.

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Originally Posted by LGray23

You're going to allow them to ship another animal to you?

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I completely agree. Well at least I hope you made sure they are using the correct heating source and not :cens0r: hand warmers. Hope for your sake they did it right this time.

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Originally Posted by angllady2

Just for future reference dear,

Most people who have reptiles shipped to them are careful to photograph the unboxing and opening of the bag. Most reptile shippers require photographic evidence of the arrival and packing materials, as well as the condition of the animal upon opening when disputing a problem or the occasional DOA.

I photograph the unopened box, useful if the box got damaged.
I photograph the open box, showing packaging.
I photograph the packing materials, insulation and heat pack as well as cushioning and the bag itself.
I photograph the unopened bag, showing the means of keeping the animal in the bag.
I photograph the open bag with the animal inside, especially important in case of DOA.
I photograph the animal out of the bag, to prove it arrived safe and sound OR if I found any issues such as kinks, scars, severe malnutrition, etc.

So far, I just have a bunch of pictures to remind me of when my newest baby arrived, but I'd much rather be safe than sorry.

Handwarmers are not acceptable to ship animals. When activated in such a small space, they get much to hot and use up all the available oxygen to get hot. So if it doesn't cook the animal, it suffocates them. There are heat packs designed for shipping animals, and they aren't that expensive. You talk about your roommate breaking the handwarmer ? Most of them activate upon being exposed to air, not by manipulation. Any chance of a picture of the handwarmer ?

Gale

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We filmed the whole thing one the first blood that we got. Today we were in too much of a hurry and barely got to the little guy in time.
No we don't have the original box or any of the packaging that came with the first one, and this one had something else heating it.

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Originally Posted by Rhasputin

You didn't happen to save the first body, did you?

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We donated it to our vet so they could do a necropsy (sp?) on it.

Okay so now that I replied to a few people. I have a question how do you warm up an almost frozen snake? Right now it is in it's terrarium on the hot spot but it is having a hard time moving around. It's flickering it's tongue and looking around but only the first part of it's head/neck is moving. I kind of have this feeling that it isn't going to make it either :/

So this one showed up near frozen as well?

I've never had to deal with a severely cold snake before but have had a couple come in a bit cool. I put them on the warm side of their tub, made sure there was fresh water and left them alone for a while to acclimate.

Best of luck with this new one. Hope it makes it.

I wouldn't say frozen but extremely cold. Its been basking in the hot spot of the terrarium for a good little while now and I just looked over and its moved more of its body and is now seeming to be more curious.

Just leave him be in his warm spot, you don't want to overheat him. Like mentioned, it probably wasn't the best idea to allow them to ship another poor snake to you, clearly they didn't get it right the first time, I would have gotten my refund and ran to a breeder who deserved your money....

We sold a 2011 black female before Christmas and with discussion from buyer it will not be shipped til spring because we won't gamble on the animals life..

I'm so glad the second one made to you alive! Best of luck with the new little guy! :)

Don't we need to see some pictures? ;)

The new one is doing GREAT! He ate a baby rat yesterday like a pro, and so far has kept it down.
The pictures I have right now aren't that great but I guess I can post them (;

https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&i...920079872-1&zw

http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik...disp=inline&zw

Hopefully after it cools down for a few more days we can get it out and take some better pictures.

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Originally Posted by Tim Mead

We sold a 2011 black female before Christmas and with discussion from buyer it will not be shipped til spring because we won't gamble on the animals life..

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That's a really good idea. The website I got mine from is a piece of crap and seems to not care about the animals that they have. The fact that the guy who runs it lives in New York and then the warehouse where all of the reptiles and other critters are kept is in Florida tells me that he might not even know that much about what he has to sell.
I mean the guy couldn't even tell me the last time my new little one ate.

By the way.... that is the Tim that I had mentioned I got mine from earlier this year. ;)

:gj:

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Originally Posted by angllady2

Just for future reference dear,


Handwarmers are not acceptable to ship animals. When activated in such a small space, they get much to hot and use up all the available oxygen to get hot. So if it doesn't cook the animal, it suffocates them. There are heat packs designed for shipping animals, and they aren't that expensive. You talk about your roommate breaking the handwarmer ? Most of them activate upon being exposed to air, not by manipulation. Any chance of a picture of the handwarmer ?

Gale

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*THIS*
Please make sure you contact this breeder and ask them to ship your replacement animal with the proper 40 hour heat packs that are designed for animals. If not, you will likely end up with another dead snake..

Hand warmers will cook a baby snake because they get entirely TOO hot TOO fast. Then they cool down right away and if the snake is still alive it will freeze.

Another problem you have to think about in this weather is cold shock syndrome. If the snake survives being shipped with hand warmers, the extreme cold for an extended period of time can cause CSS. It can cause neurological damage that the snake may never fully recover from. You could end up with a snake that has a spider-ball type wobble for the rest of it's life.

So please be sure the breeder has the proper heat packs. If they do not, be sure to tell them you are willing to wait until they get them. They cost less than $1.00 each and take only a couple days to get there if they order some online. They should already have some if they are shipping snakes. SYR/PE has them.

I'm sorry for your loss and good luck with your next shipment!

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

*THIS*
Please make sure you contact this breeder and ask them to ship your replacement animal with the proper 40 hour heat packs that are designed for animals. If not, you will likely end up with another dead snake..

Hand warmers will cook a baby snake because they get entirely TOO hot TOO fast. Then they cool down right away and if the snake is still alive it will freeze.

Another problem you have to think about in this weather is cold shock syndrome. If the snake survives being shipped with hand warmers, the extreme cold for an extended period of time can cause CSS. It can cause neurological damage that the snake may never fully recover from. You could end up with a snake that has a spider-ball type wobble for the rest of it's life.

So please be sure the breeder has the proper heat packs. If they do not, be sure to tell them you are willing to wait until they get them. They cost less than $1.00 each and take only a couple days to get there if they order some online. They should already have some if they are shipping snakes. SYR/PE has them.

I'm sorry for your loss and good luck with your next shipment!

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We got the new one already but when it arrived it was extremely cold. It seems to be doing fine now but what would be some signs that I need to keep an eye out for?

Just the obvious problems. Anything out of the ordinary. Signs of RI of course. Making unusual noises, raspy, whistling, clicking, etc. Any excess mucus. Rubbing the head/nose on the enclosure or objects in it. Star gazing. Holding the head up for extended periods.

Signs of CSS are neurological signs. Inability to strike prey efficiently. Wobbling, twisting, slow to right itself if turned upside down, etc. Of course these are things any snake will do if it's still too cold. There is only really a problem if these things are happening long after the snake is situated. Like days after.

If it's doing fine and showing no unusual symptoms when you observe or handle it then I wouldn't worry. I was just concerned with the way this person is shipping snakes in cold weather. CSS is rare but it does happen. We had a member on here last year with a ball showing signs of it for quite some time,and there was a YouTube video of a Retic shipped in a similar situation that was acting very strangely as well.

Good luck with your new little guy :)

I had a burm delivered from a well known breeder with a heat pack in the box that was smelling when I opened it. This breeder said he has been shipping for 14 years and never had one arrive dead. He sent me another one and it was also DOA. He gave me my money back so i wasn't upset at him (jus feel bad for those snakes). I was thinking maybe it was the Fed Ex in my area. A few months later I had a blood python shipped to me from an out of state pet shop. It arrived with only news paper in the box and was alive and attentive. Makes you wonder about those warmers.

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Originally Posted by adre531

I had a burm delivered from a well known breeder with a heat pack in the box that was smelling when I opened it. This breeder said he has been shipping for 14 years and never had one arrive dead. He sent me another one and it was also DOA. He gave me my money back so i wasn't upset at him (jus feel bad for those snakes). I was thinking maybe it was the Fed Ex in my area. A few months later I had a blood python shipped to me from an out of state pet shop. It arrived with only news paper in the box and was alive and attentive. Makes you wonder about those warmers.

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One of the reasons I don't use rough, sharp, cold, newspaper.. When I ship I only use polyester pillow fill for packing. Shipping companies are not gentle with boxes. I don't care how many "fragile" stickers are on that box, and mine have one sticker per side.. The pillow fill prevents uneven temperature, is much more insulate, allows you to pack the snake more firmly and securely in the center with fill all around it so it doesn't jar around in there, and allows for a comfortable ride.

Boxes packed this way can withstand much more abuse than the average pack job.

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

One of the reasons I don't use rough, sharp, cold, newspaper.. When I ship I only use polyester pillow fill for packing. Shipping companies are not gentle with boxes. I don't care how many "fragile" stickers are on that box, and mine have one sticker per side.. The pillow fill prevents uneven temperature, is much more insulate, allows you to pack the snake more firmly and securely in the center with fill all around it so it doesn't jar around in there, and allows for a comfortable ride.

Boxes packed this way can withstand much more abuse than the average pack job.

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I've witnessed the FedEx folks with my own eyes just TOSS the box around like it was nothing!!! FRAGILE and THIS SIDE UP stickers all over it!